This invention relates to cushioning apparatus, and in particular to such cushioning or shock absorbing apparatus as is used in connection with the keyboard of a computer or electronic typewriter.
With the advent of the information age, more and more people are obtaining and using computers and electronic typewriters, whether at work or at home or both. The main input device for most computers and electronic typewriters in use today is the keyboard, and so the use of keyboards has also increased.
With the increase in the use of keyboards has come an increase in injuries or pain caused by repetitive use of the fingers. This is due at least partly to the fact that, prior to electronic keyboards, keys for mechanical typewriters actuated the typing mechanism by means of springs and levers, and the final impact was that of a lever on a rubber platen. With electronic keyboards, on the other hand, the key bottoms on a hard mechanical stop, increasing the impact to the fingers caused by typing. Moreover, typists using keyboards with computers and electronic typewriters have much less worry about making mistakes because of the ease of later correction. This has the effect of permitting such typists to type faster and for longer periods, increasing the abuse to their hands.
Typists using prior art electronic keyboards have experienced radiating pain, nerve damage, bone damage and arthritis in the joints. Nerve damage is felt through increased sensitivity to heat and cold, as well as radiating pains along the sides of the fingers. Fingertips may also feel like they are burning when they touch the keyboard. Hence there appears to be need in the market for some device or apparatus for reducing the pain caused in some individuals by repetitive keyboard use.
This invention relates to improvements to the devices described above and to solutions to the problems raised or not solved thereby.